Lopez leaves mound with strained forearm

Rockies starter Rodrigo Lopez left the game in the seventh inning Thursday with a right forearm strain. Lopez had just struck out the Dodgers’ Matt Kemp when trainer Keith Dugger was summoned to the mound. Lopez was hurt earlier this season, spending time on the disabled list from April 19 to May 28 with right elbow inflammation.

WAIT AND SEE: Injured reliever Brian Fuentes made progress by playing catch from about 90 feet before the game. The next step will be a minor-league rehabilitation assignment, but nothing has been scheduled yet. “We’ll know more tomorrow. We’ll wait and see how he feels,” manager Clint Hurdle said.

MR. CLUTCH: Brad Hawpe drove in three runs, two of them coming on a two-out single in the sixth. Of Hawpe’s 69 RBIs, 45 (65.2 percent) have come with two out. That’s the best mark in the National League, and second-best in the majors behind the Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez, who has 49 two-out RBIs.

Patrick, a third-generation Colorado native, is back for his second stint covering the Rockies. He first covered the team from 2005-2009, helping chronicle “Rocktober” in 2007 and also following the team’s playoff run in 2009.

Nick Groke has worked at The Denver Post since 1997, as a sports reporter, city reporter, entertainment writer and digital editor and producer, among other newsroom posts. He also writes regularly about boxing, soccer, MMA and NASCAR.